Vegan Millionaires Shortbread Cake

Method (cake)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees c fan and line three, 8” inch cake tins with grease-proof paper.
2. In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined.  Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well to combine.
4. Add the oil into the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.
5. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and combine. Don’t over mix or the batter might become to tough.
6. Fold in the roughly broken up biscuits.
7. Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins. Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles. 
8. Optional: Sprinkle over more biscuit crumbs to the tops of each cake before baking.
9. Place the cakes into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for around 28-30 minutes. If you only have one or two cake tins, you’ll have to bake the cakes separately. Just make sure to cover the remaining batter in the bowl with a damp tea towel. This will keep it fresh.  You will know the cakes are done when you put a knife or skewer down the middle and it comes out clean and they are springy to the touch.
10. Place the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully. Once cool, pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh before frosting and decorating.

Method (caramel)

This is the time you will want to make a batch of vegan caramel. The caramel will need to be chilled overnight before use. Get my recipe here.

Method (buttercream)

1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free block butter, whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
2. Sift in the icing sugar and add in the caramel flavouring. Whip on high speed for a couple of minutes to incorporate it.
3. Pour in the aquafaba (chickpea brine) and whip for 5 minutes until it turns thick and creamy. Don’t over whip it or it can become too soft. If it goes too soft add more icing sugar, or too thick, add chunks of dairy-free block butter to get it to a smooth and creamy consistency. The buttercream should be sufficient enough for the filling and decoration.
4. Place one of the chocolate cakes on a serving plate or cake stand. Dollop some of the buttercream on top and spread out until even using an off-set spatula or pallet knife.
5. In between each layer add a tablespoon or two of the caramel sauce and spread out. Sprinkle over more roughly chopped / broken up biscuits. Don’t spread the caramel to close the edge of the cake, you don’t want it showing in your final coat.
6. Place the second cake layer on top. Press it down gently so it sticks, repeat with the caramel and biscuit. Do the same with the 3rd cake layer.
7. Coat the whole cake with a thin layer of buttercream using an off set spatula. This creates a crumb coat. Place the cake into the fridge to set. This will take around 10-15 minutes. Chilling the cake makes it easier when adding the final coat of buttercream.
8. When the cake comes out of the fridge, coat with a final layer of buttercream. Use a spatula to create a swirly / wavy effect around the sides of the cake (watch the tutorial here).

Method (decoration)

1. Fill a small saucepan 1/4 full with water, add a bowl on top of the pan creating a bain-marie, place onto the hob over low/ medium heat. Add the dairy-free dark chocolate into the bowl and allow to melt. Once melted, remove the bowl from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
2. Draw where you want the numbers and clock face on the top of the cake, using a tooth pick. This gives you a guide of where to pipe. 
3. Pour the melted chocolate into a heat proof piping bag with the tip snipped off, and pipe the clock face.